Randal Howard "Rand" PaulU.S. Senator, Kentucky

"I do agree with you. I think special interests are a problem, and they have too much influence in Washington.

"One of the ideas I've had is that when we give out contracts to people, let's say that you get a billion dollar contract in Washington, I think you could have a clause in the contract that limits what you can do.... I think we could have rules on if we accept federal money through a contract, you voluntarily give up certain things. If we just make it mandatory pre-emptively, like everyone, the [Supreme] Court has ruled that that's an infringement on speech, and I don't think any of those would pass muster."

-- Sen. Rand Paul, (R)-KY - 3/22/2015

Full Text - 3/22/2015​Daniel Weeks: "Thank you for being here and for your commitment to the country, Sen. Paul. Given the concerns about big government and wasteful spending adding to the national debt, I'm worried that we won't have any chance of reining in spending while special interests fund campaigns that want contracts and special treatment are funding campaigns. Citizens are sick of special interest influencing government at the expense of the people. What specific reforms would you support to end this corrupting influence in Washington?"

"I do agree with you. I think special interests are a problem, and they have too much influence in Washington.

One of the ideas I've had is that when we give out contracts to people, let's say that you get a billion dollar contract in Washington, I think you could have a clause in the contract that limits what you can do. There are analogies for how we can do this. So, for example, if I'm in the military, and I wanted to be involved in campaigns, I'm not allowed to stand up in my uniform. I have an agreement, sort of like an employment agreement, that I'm limited in certain campaign activities.

If I'm a federal employee, there's the Hatch Act that says that between 8-5, I'm supposed to be at my job, not out campaigning. There are limits on what you can do and you accept these voluntarily if you accept to be a soldier or if you accept to be a federal employee.

I think we could have rules on if we accept federal money through a contract, you voluntarily give up certain things. If we just make it mandatory pre-emptively, like everyone, the [Supreme] Court has ruled that that's an infringement on speech, and I don't think any of those would pass muster. The way I'm thinking about it could actually pass muster, because it would simply be part of federal contracts. It would have to apply equally to big business and to big labor in order for it to get through [Congress] but I think it has a chance.

Conway Daily Sun 3/24/2015Q&A With Rand Paul

Q: Do you support public campaign financing?A: “The public doesn’t have any money. That’s a secret that’s getting out.”

Paul said the extremely wealthy can spend unlimited amounts of money on their campaigns, and it would give them a big advantage. Challengers have to spend as much as 10 times more than an incumbent to make up for lack of name recognition.

“So while money can have a corrupting influence, money can also have a corrective influence if it’s given to people challenging an incumbent.”